Monday, 14 April 2008

It's Not Just Me!!

I know I complain a bit about the College Franco-Britannique, where I live, but tonight I discover that it is not just me who thinks it is not as great as what it could be. There were people walking around the corridors handing out petitions for all the residents to sign. Quite a few of the complaints don't apply to me, things like moving notices, apparently people have been given 2 days notice to change rooms, or the kitchens not working and in a lot of rooms the lights don't work. Thankfully none of that applies to me. Their main complaint was about the inaccessibility of the foyer. For the last 4 months they have been renovating the lobby, which is a shame as I really liked how it used to look, with really dark wood panelling, black leather couches and a grand piano (very classy), but now the word is that none of the students are allowed to use it, only the researchers (I wonder if that means me?). Which is pretty bizarre as the foyer is really the only place you can congregate here and if you exclude that to the majority of the residents where are they meant to meet up? I really don't know what they are thinking, they spend all this money and then nobody is going to be allowed inside. It's like those people who buy lovely lounge furniture but then insist on using ugly plastic covering to protect it, what's the point?

They also complain about the frequency of the fire alarms which really annoys me, we had one go off at 4am the other week, luckily that was the morning I was flying out to Amsterdam, so I was getting up almost that early anyway. But not one of the dozens of alarms have been due to a fire, which means if we ever do have a fire here we are all going to burn to death as nobody leaves their rooms anymore. So I'm not a total whinge-pot, there are a few legitimate concerns in amongst my complaining.

Paris Top 10

5. The Louvre (but if pressed for time only see the things listed on the map)

6. Musee Marmottan-Monet, though you can't take any photos

7. Tour Montparnasse (expensive, but the view is awesome)

8. Sacre Coeur and Montmarte, just watch out for the guys with the wrist bands trying to grab you

9. Arc de Triomphe and Champs-Elysees

10. Eating at a quiet restaurant in the Marais

Places I Want to Visit

Corsica

Barcelona

Nice and Monaco

Verdun and the Alsace region

Fointanbleu

Giverny

Wines I have Tried So Far (and my rating/thoughts)

White Wines

Kir (this is a mixture of white wine and blackcurrent liquor, drunk as an aperitif and is delicious)Pinot Gris (yummy)Champagne (not bad, but not Mercier)

Red Wines

Bordeaux (my god, how have I not tried this before now)Burgundy (yuck)Pinot Noir (Ok, but it's no bordeaux)

Rose (I suppose this should really be in both the red and the white columns)- this is nice, especially with lunch on a sunny Sunday, not very alcoholic and quite refreshing

Things I Hate About Blogger

The preview is not actually a preview

When you add an image it automatically places it at the top of the page

The spelling is in American so I've been thinking for ages that there was something wrong with the word organise, and not for the life of me being able to work out what it was. (I don't really hate Blogger because of that, Americans do rule the world after all)